


Emotional Landscapes

by energie_vie



Series: Gooey [7]
Category: The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Established Relationship, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Love, POV Nile Freeman, Post-Movie: The Old Guard (2020), Reunion Sex, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:55:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28089639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/energie_vie/pseuds/energie_vie
Summary: "Nile wishes she too could play with words with such ease. Sometimes she succeeds. Other times she relies on gestures, just like now. She hasn't told Booker she's coming and she's had to put in a lot of work to convince Joe and Nicky to keep quiet."OR: the one with the surprise reunion.
Relationships: Booker | Sebastien le Livre/Nile Freeman
Series: Gooey [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1983568
Comments: 10
Kudos: 86





	Emotional Landscapes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nevermindirah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevermindirah/gifts).



> Some fluff, some smut.. basically, the usual for this series, at least the smut part.
> 
> The title is probably the most beautiful phrase in the English language and I wish I could say I coined it but it's actually Björk's from the song [Jóga](https://youtu.be/loB0kmz_0MM) that you really, really need to listen to.
> 
> Self-promotion: in the same universe you can check out the [Magnetic](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987831) series (prequel to this series) and [Snapshots](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27817846/chapters/68103208) (random snippets focusing on their relationship).
> 
> Last but not least, this one is, as per usual, a standalone story but there are two small details that are fully explored in other fics - links in the end notes in case you're interested.
> 
> That's it, enjoy :)

Two planes and a train. Six thousand five hundred miles. Another continent. A difference of three hours. However she looks at it, he's so far away and each minute passes too slowly, as if someone has replaced the sand in the hourglass with molasses. The thought brings with it a fleeting smile. Love has made her gooey.

Booker is with Joe and Nicky in England and Nile hasn't seen him in three weeks. That hadn't been the original plan. She, Andy and Quynh were supposed to be in Mogadishu for a week, ten days tops. Of course, things hadn't gone according to plan because when do they ever, so the ten days had turned into two weeks. And then the earthquake had happened, which had added an extra week of delay because how can you leave when half the country is in ruins?

That week had mostly been spent digging through rubble looking for survivors, as well as helping the authorities displace thousands of people. She had gone to bed crying every single night, cursing the laws of nature and the injustice of it all. 

At the airport she hugs Andy and Quynh tightly, promising to update them on the progress of her trip.

'You guys have fun,' she winks cheekily when the flight to Cairo is announced. 'Don't forget to leave the room every once in a while. We wouldn't want the hotel staff breaking down your door just to check you're still alive.'

'Fuck off,' Andy says, lightly shoving her shoulder but the gleam in her eyes tells Nile that sightseeing is very low on her priority list.

'Hug the boys for us,' Quynh smiles.

'Of course. Now go, see you in a week.'

She watches them head for their gate, smiling softly when Quynh reaches for Andy's hand and then looks for an empty seat in the waiting area. She pulls her phone out of her pocket and looks at Booker's last message.

_'I feel like an elastic band that's been pulled so taut it's about to snap.'_

She's read it at least a hundred times and every time she feels her chest tightening in an achingly pleasant sort of way. Booker is not always poetic. His love is in his eyes and his touch and the way he remembers snippets of random conversations from years ago. However, when he does use words, he chooses them so carefully and arranges them so beautifully that it almost hurts.

Nile wishes she too could play with words with such ease. Sometimes she succeeds. Other times she relies on gestures, just like now. She hasn't told Booker she's coming and she's had to put in a lot of work to convince Joe and Nicky to keep quiet.

 _'He's like a trapped animal,'_ Nicky had texted her.

 _'Trust me,'_ she had texted back.

So she gets on the first plane and spends the three hours to Istanbul rereading the back and forth messages from the past three weeks. By the time she lands she's only halfway through. She keeps reading while waiting for the London flight to be announced and once she's on the plane she texts Booker to say good night.

 _'I really hope it rains tonight. I only know how to be silent with you,'_ he texts back.

Maybe not as poetic as the previous one but it still makes her heart swell to the point it might actually burst. She's so tempted to tell him that she's coming home and her fingers hover undecidedly over the keyboard until the captain announces the take off and she has to switch to airplane mode. All the better, she laughs quietly.

She manages to catch two hours of sleep, so when she lands in London she's so alert that she practically skips all the way to Customs, grinning happily at the officer who looks at her a bit strangely, probably thinking she's had too many energy drinks on the plane. It's still dark outside when she jumps in a taxi but when she gets off at the station, the sky is a pale blue, painted with orange and pink streaks. Nile pulls out her phone, snaps a picture and sends it to the earliest bird in existence.

 _'Welcome to England,'_ Nicky texts back, followed by a string of grinning and heart-eyed emojis.

 _'Nice to be in the same country as you,'_ she replies before getting on the train.

The journey takes almost two hours and by the time she arrives in Nottingham she feels like she had left London an eon ago. Nile wonders if this is what Andy feels like whenever she thinks of her mortal days but it's just a passing thought. Another taxi, another twenty minutes and then she's finally knocking on the door, barely containing her excitement.

Nicky grins widely, scooping her in a bear hug as soon as she closes the door behind her. A few seconds later he passes her on to Joe who, even half-asleep as he is, squeezes her tightly, lifting her off the ground.

Nile takes off her backpack, her jacket and her shoes and stretches lazily, feeling several joints crack in protest.

'Long flights suck,' she pouts, rolling her shoulders and her neck. 'Is he still sleeping?'

'I would hope so. He hasn't been sleeping very well,' Nicky replies softly. 'Second door on the right,' he adds with a chuckle.

Nile smiles brightly at them, then turns on her heels and goes quietly down the corridor. She stops in front of the door, takes a deep breath, smiles stupidly in anticipation and slowly pushes the handle. There's a sudden flashback to another moment like this, except it's not nighttime and there's no storm and she's not seeking refuge in his arms because she's had a nightmare. This time she's crawling into bed with him because that's where she belongs.

She tiptoes into the room, gently closes the door and then takes a few moments to just look at him. Booker's curled up on his left side, back towards the door and blanket tangled between his legs. His T-shirt is twisted and bunched up under him and she can't see any pillow, which means he's probably hugging it to his chest.

Nile feels the sudden and inexplicable urge to cry. Then she stalks towards the bed, deciding at the very last second not to throw herself on it because as much as she wants to wrap her arms around him, that's not a very nice way to wake someone up. She almost laughs out loud with pure and unbridled joy, but making him jolt awake isn't nice either. Instead, she takes off her jeans and socks and slides into bed, turns on her left side and carefully puts an arm around his waist.

'Not funny, Joe, go away,' Booker mumbles sleepily.

She doesn't really trust her voice to speak, so she giggles girlishly, shifting closer to him and pressing herself to his back. His whole body goes tense and Nile could swear she can actually feel his eyes snap open.

'I missed you,' she whispers, giggling again when Booker turns around lightning fast and pulls her close, crushing her against his chest.

He's warm and his skin is smooth and smells like spring in a city by the sea. When he pulls back to caress her cheek with his knuckles, his eyes sparkle like waves in the sunlight and his smile is so blindingly beautiful that her breath catches in her throat.

'I missed you too,' he murmurs before leaning to capture her lips with his own.

It's a slow kiss, the kind usually reserved for lazy mornings when neither of them wants to get out of bed. The kind where their lips move perfectly in sync and they take the time to just taste each other because there's no rush.

Except now there _is_ a rush and it starts like a vague rustle low in her belly that prompts her to tangle her fingers in his hair and slip her tongue in his mouth. A strangled moan and he pulls her flush against him, left hand splayed on her lower back.

Nile feels the rustle turn into a whirlwind that brings about a sense of urgency to the way she moves. The kiss gets more heated, breaths mingling and tongues colliding, her fingers in his hair are no longer gentle, her body is undulating almost involuntarily.

'I need you,' Nile whimpers and it's like the gunshot at the start of a race.

Booker moves on top of her and she lets her thighs fall open, moaning when his hips start rocking into her. Her patience goes out the window when his left hand cups her through her panties, so she pulls at the hem of his T-shirt, huffing when they have to break apart for him to take it off. She wastes no time in discarding her own T-shirt and when Booker latches himself to one of her breasts, his other hand fondling the other she lets out a long and satisfied moan.

His mouth moves lower but he doesn't make it past her belly button before Nile makes an impatient sound and pulls him back up to kiss him hotly. She pushes his boxers past his hips and when he shifts to take them off, she pushes her own panties down, wiggling her legs to get rid of them entirely. Booker settles between her thighs, one hand braced for support and the other aligning his cock and when he starts easing in, she grabs his shoulders and pulls him close for another searing kiss.

He stills once he's fully inside and pulls back to look at her, smiling goofily. Nile sighs contentedly, stretching like a lazy cat and smiling back at him just as goofily. His first thrusts are slow and gentle and she closes her eyes to savour them.

'This beats getting high,' she mumbles, making Booker chuckle.

'But does it beat _fucking_ while high?'

'No, not really,' Nile says seriously, clenching herself around him.

'Oh, fuck!' he hisses, eyes shut tightly and fingers digging into her hips.

'Yes, please,' she teases, laughing naughtily.

It dies in her throat when Booker sits back on his haunches, grabs her hips and pulls her a bit lower on the bed, making her shriek in the process. He shifts around a little, a look of intense concentration on his face and then lifts both her legs on his shoulders. When he starts moving, it's not slow and gentle anymore, it's fast-paced and forceful and Nile grabs the headboard with both arms.

'Jesus, this is fucking amazing!' she manages to gasp, words melting into each other.

' _You_ 're amazing,' Booker pants, letting her legs fall on his bent elbows.

It's a different angle that makes her feel like she's been set on fire and she's already started to melt from the inside.

'Whatever you do, please don't stop,' she mumbles and she moans loudly when Booker lets one of her legs fall on the bed and starts using his fingers to rub tight circles on her clit.

'Oh, god! Seb! Don't stop, it's so good. It's-, fuck! Seb.. Seb..'

She's rambling incoherently and when he calls his name it almost sounds like a warning. Booker doesn't relent, keeping up a steady rhythm, thrusts mirroring the small circles.

'I love you,' he pants and this is what sends her over the edge.

She comes with a shout, back arching off the bed and knuckles turning white on the headboard. Her head is swimming and her ears are buzzing and thankfully Booker has taken his fingers away from her clit but he's once again lifting her legs on his shoulders and fuck, this is just too much.

Her whole body is trembling and there's heat gathering in her belly and she _can't_ be so close, she's barely come down from the high of her first orgasm.

'Look at me,' Booker pleads breathily and she hadn't even realised her eyes were still closed. 'I love you,' he whispers, the corners of his mouth lifting in a soft smile.

He's gazing at her adoringly, as if she were the most precious thing in the universe. His eyes are wide and so, so warm that she feels a lump forming in her throat that she can't really swallow past.

'I love you too,' Nile mouths, afraid her voice might actually crack and the radiant smile she receives in return is enough to make her eyes well.

'I love you,' he says again, steady pace unfaltering. 'I love you,' over and over and over until her eyes fall shut against her will and she comes again, crying his name out loud.

Booker's breath stutters and his hips buck once, twice and then he too comes with a throaty moan, hands gripping her thighs almost painfully. In another universe, those would be bruises that would adorn her skin for days. In this one, they're gone by the time she lets her legs fall limply on the bed and covers herself with his body, arms crossed behind his neck and ankles behind his hips.

She presses a kiss to his shoulder and glides her hands all over his back, dragging her fingernails in random patterns.

'I'm useless without you,' she whispers. 'Functional, but void. And _de_ void. I'd always thought it would be scary to feel like this.'

'And is it?' he asks quietly, bracing himself on his elbows and pulling back to look at her.

'No,' she smiles. 'It just makes me restless until I can breathe again.' 

'I love you,' Booker whispers, fingers lightly tracing her eyebrow and her cheekbone. 'Always. And I'll keep telling you until you get tired of hearing it and then some more,' he chuckles.

'As if I could ever get tired,' she scoffs.

Booker pulls out and moves to lie down next to her but Nile tuts disapprovingly, snaking an arm under him and pulling him close, until he's resting his head on her chest, right above her heart.

'I love silence with you,' she says, smiling when Booker hums sleepily, the vibrations going straight to her heart. 'By the way,' she carries on mischievously, 'remember I told you that when I'll feel like celebrating my birthday again you'll be the first to know?'

'Mhm,' he replies, sounding a bit more alert.

'Today's my birthday.'

'What?!' he exclaims, lifting his head to look at her, eyes searching her face intently. 'You're kidding.'

'Nope,' Nile replies seriously.

'I don't even know what day it is,' Booker half-whines.

'Monday.'

'Very funny.'

'September 18th,' she replies and Booker grins happily as if he's just won the lottery.

'I don't wanna tell the others yet,' Nile adds quietly.

'Of course, darling. But we _have_ to celebrate,' he says, eyes sparkling with excitement. 'Whatever you want, just name it.'

'I want to stay in this bed all day and make love to you.'

'Yes, please,' Booker laughs happily. 'It's gonna be the best birthday ever!'

**Author's Note:**

> So, the flashback Nile has before entering the room is of the events in [Take shelter](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27541555).
> 
> The discussion revolving around her birthday takes place in [One step closer](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27798043).
> 
> As always, you can also find me on [Tumblr](https://energievie.tumblr.com/) in case you wanna say hi 😁💜


End file.
